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Background: Migraine is a disabling neurological disorder with the pathophysiology yet to be understood. The microstructural alteration in brain white matter (WM) has been suggested to be related to migraine in recent studies, but these evidence are observational essentially and cannot infer a causal relationship. The present study aims to reveal the causal relationship between migraine and microstructural WM using genetic data and Mendelian randomization (MR). Methods: We collected the Genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics of migraine (48,975 cases / 550,381 controls) and 360 WM imaging-derived phenotypes (IDPs) (31,356 samples) that were used to measure microstructural WM. Based on instrumental variables (IVs) selected from the GWAS summary statistics, we conducted bidirectional two-sample MR analyses to infer bidirectional causal associations between migraine and microstructural WM. In forward MR analysis, we inferred the causal effect of microstructural WM on migraine by reporting the odds ratio (OR) that quantified the risk change of migraine for per 1 standard deviation (SD) increase of IDPs. In reverse MR analysis, we inferred the causal effect of migraine on microstructural WM by reporting the β value that represented SDs of changes in IDPs were caused by migraine. Results: Three WM IDPs showed significant causal associations (p < 3.29 × 10− 4, Bonferroni correction) with migraine and were proved to be reliable via sensitivity analysis. The mode of anisotropy (MO) of left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (OR = 1.76, p = 6.46 × 10− 5) and orientation dispersion index (OD) of right posterior thalamic radiation (OR = 0.78, p = 1.86 × 10− 4) exerted significant causal effects on migraine. Migraine exerted a significant causal effect on the OD of left superior cerebellar peduncle (β = − 0.09, p = 2.78 × 10− 4). Conclusions: Our findings provided genetic evidence for the causal relationships between migraine and microstructural WM, bringing new insights into brain structure for the development and experience of migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional (2D) organic–inorganic perovskite hybrid materials with enhanced stability have attracted wide attention in optoelectronic field in recent years. Efforts of exploring new 2D perovskites with various organic or inorganic components have been devoted to further improve their solar cell efficiencies. In this work, three structurally similar spacer cations of phenylethylammonium (PEA), 4-bromophenylethylammonium (BPEA) and 4-chlorophenylethylammonium (CPEA) are selected to prepare multilayered 2D perovskites. It is found that the introduction of halogen atoms in the organic cations positively influences the film quality, light absorption, charge transport, device performance and moisture stability of the resulting perovskites. The (BPEA)2(MA)4Pb5I16 and (CPEA)2(MA)4Pb5I16 perovskites exhibit efficiencies of 7.38% and 10.88%, respectively, which are much higher than that of (PEA)2(MA)4Pb5I16 (3.98%). Owning to the larger size and bigger electronegativity of halogen atom in spacer cations, the PCE of unsealed BPEA- and CPEA-based 2D perovskite devices maintains 73% and 63% of their original efficiency after 720 h exposure to 60% humid air, while the PEA-based 2D device decreases to 52% of its initial PCE. Our work demonstrates new insight to modify the quality and stability of 2D perovskite hybrids, highlighting the validity of molecule design of organic cations in improving the efficiency and stability of 2D perovskite solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemically oxidized porous carbon (m-a-NC) materials were prepared by oxidation and activation of N-doped carbon (NC) materials which were produced from the glucose-urea resin primary carbon. Simultaneously, the batch experiments were carried out to investigate the adsorption of U(VI) onto the m-a-NC materials. The m-a-NC materials exhibit the maximum adsorption capacity of 397 mg/g towards U(VI) at 298.15 K and pH = 4.5. The adsorption kinetics was well fitted by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the adsorption isotherm was better described by the Langmuir model. The possible adsorption mechanism of the m-a-NC for U(VI) was ion-exchange and coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-term load forecasting (STLF) of heterogeneous multi-agents plays a significant role in smart grid. Faced with special difficulties of multi-agent STLF due to the high heterogeneity, uncertainty and volatility, traditional local methods usually make predictions based on load aggregation or clustering, the complexity of which will rise greatly with the increase of agent types. It has become more and more difficult for traditional methods to meet the STLF demand of smart grid. Meanwhile, global time series forecasting method emerges gradually in many fields, which can make predictions for many agents only by one model with much lower complexity. However, there is few researches on the multi-agent global STLF. This study proposes a global deep-Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) STLF model based on a pretraining method. The model fully applies the information such as electricity consumption pattern, weather and calendar in a structural and orderly way. The empirical results show that our model can effectively predict the daily load of heterogeneous households, with prediction accuracies of 87.9–90.2% on the test set across various tasks. Compared with the base model, our model achieves an 8.7% higher accuracy with a much faster convergence speed. Furthermore, the fluctuations of accuracy on different tasks are within 2.3%, showing that our model is robust. The superiority of the global method is proved through the comparison with local method in the empirical results. This study is expected to make contribution to global STLF of heterogeneous households and providing experience for the global prediction of heterogeneous time series based on deep-LSTM and pretraining method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the micelle synergism mechanism, a simple and sensitive flow injection chemiluminescence (FI-CL) method for the assay of lornoxicam was described. The CL signal generated from the reaction of Ce (IV) with lornoxicam in acidic solution was very weak, while the interfusion of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) resulted in a highly CL intensity. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the CL intensity was proportional to lornoxicam concentration over the range 1.0 × 10-7.3 × 10 g/mL with a detection limit of 4.9 × 10 g/mL (3σ). The relative standard deviation for 11 replicate measurements of 3.0 × 10 g/mL of lornoxicam was 1.9%. The proposed method was successfully applied for the assay of lornoxicam in pharmaceuticals, human serum and urine with excellent recovery. The possible mechanism of CL reaction was also discussed briefly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand-side response (DSR) measures, which facilitate the management of system reliability and maintain system resource adequacy of power grids, are gaining prominence. Traditional optimization methods for residential electricity usage in peak-demand hours often lack flexibility and effectiveness in solving practical problems due to a large amount of data and a high degree of data uncertainty. Our study aims to obtain a high degree of responsiveness for numerous and highly dispersed residential customers by integrating data-driven and model-driven methods. In this study, we conducted large-scale DSR controlled trials, collected 15-min intervals of electricity consumption data, and matched the survey data. A dynamic time-warping clustering-based difference-in-difference method was proposed for empirical analysis. The results indicate that monetary incentives induced a statistically significant reduction in electricity usage during peak periods in summer by 18.6%, while the response effect was not significant in winter. The heterogeneity analysis suggests that the reduction was mainly contributed by the middle-income group and the elderly group. Our study provides a basis for policymakers to formulate tailored policies to optimize residents' electricity consumption during peak hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by the goal of “carbon neutrality” for achieving energy savings and carbon reductions, various industries are striving to continuously introduce green energy-saving products. This study contributes to providing pricing policies and product launch strategies for the green energy-saving product manufacturers, aiming at increasing their profitability when facing strategic consumers. We develop a two-period pricing model, which considers three pricing policies and three product launch strategies in the presence of green information sharing, and we then investigate the performance of two types of government subsidy programs. The basic results show that the manufacturers would share information and adopt price commitment or price matching with dual rollover launch, when both the information sharing cost and consumer strategic level are low. While sharing green information is always beneficial to manufacturers its impact on sales quantity depends on consumer strategic level and technology preference. The further finding suggests that the highest profits can be achieved by adopting both price commitment and price matching, whereas the largest sales quantity can only be obtained under dynamic pricing. To achieve the promotion goal under price commitment, we derive the optimal subsidies of the manufacturer and consumers, and the results indicate that subsidizing consumers can not only help to reach the maximum promotion but also eliminate the risk of market failure. This study is expected to provide insights of subsidy programs for policy makers to enable manufacturers to achieve the promotion goal of energy-saving product, and it also accelerates the development of sustainable supply chain management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Core–shell nanoscale zero-valent iron@alginate/carboxymethyl cellulose sodium composite loaded with calcium (nZVI@SA/CMC-Ca) beads were synthesized in this study using coaxial electronic injection method. The adsorbent structure was characterized via FT-IR, SEM, EDX and XPS. The adsorption behavior of U(VI) and Cu(II) on core–shell nZVI@SA/CMC-Ca beads was studied under various experimental parameters like pH, contact time and temperature. The isotherm and the kinetic data, pertaining to the adsorption of U(VI) and Cu(II) by core–shell nZVI@SA/CMC-Ca beads obeyed both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms model and the pseudo-second-order kinetics model, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters revealed the spontaneous and endothermic nature of the adsorption. The experiment of regeneration and reusability suggested core–shell nZVI@SA/CMC-Ca bead was a regenerated material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BAHD superfamily acyltransferases play an important role in catalyzing and regulating secondary metabolism in plants. Despite this, there is relatively little information regarding the BAHD superfamily in barley. In this study, we identified 116 HvBAHD acyltransferases from the barley genome. Based on phylogenetic analysis and classification in model monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants, we divided the genes into eight groups, I-a, I-b, II, III-a, III-b, IV, V-a and V-b. The Clade IV genes, including Agmatine Coumarol Transferase (ACT) that is associated with resistance of plants to Gibberella fungi, were absent in Arabidopsis. Cis-regulatory element analysis of the HvBAHDs showed that the genes respond positively to GA3 treatment. In-silico expression and qPCR analysis showed the HvBAHD genes are expressed in a range of tissues and developmental stages, and highly enriched in the seedling stage, consistent with diverse roles. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) scanning analysis revealed that the natural variation in the coding regions of the HvBAHDs is low and the sequences have been conserved during barley domestication. Our results reveal the complexity of the HvBAHDs and will help facilitate their analysis in further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars vary in their resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB), while it is poorly understood how different cultivars influence FHB-causing Fusarium graminearum abundance in rhizosphere soil. Methods: A field experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of three wheat cultivars on FHB index, rhizosphere soil F. graminearum abundance, chemical properties, and microbial community composition and metabolic profiles. The cultivars were Sumai3 (SM), Yangmai13 (YM), and Annong8455 (AN), representing high, intermediate, and low resistance to FHB, respectively. Results: Both wheat FHB index and rhizosphere F. graminearum abundance were ranked as SM < YM < AN (p < 0.05). Wheat cultivar influenced community composition with a higher fungal Shannon index in the SM and YM rhizosphere than in the AN rhizosphere. The relative abundances of Arthrobacter, Pseudomonas, Acremonium and Guehomyces that contain microbes with potential to have beneficial effects on pathogen suppression were higher in the rhizosphere soil of SM, relative to AN. Microorganisms in the SM rhizosphere used less carboxylic acids and phenolic acids but more amino acids than those in the AN rhizosphere. Rhizosphere F. graminearum abundance was positively correlated to utilization of carboxylic acids, but negatively correlated with NH4+-N content, fungal Shannon index, and relative abundance of Arthrobacter, Pseudomonas, Acremonium and Guehomyces. Conclusions: The different F. graminearum abundance in rhizosphere soil of wheat cultivars with different resistance to FHB may be associated with the changes in rhizosphere soil chemical properties and microbial community composition and function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of cells to repair DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) is important for maintaining genome stability and eliminating oncogenic DNA lesions. Two distinct and complementary pathways, non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR), are employed by mammalian cells to repair DNA DSBs. Each pathway is tightly controlled in response to increased DSBs. The Ku heterodimer has been shown to play a regulatory role in NHEJ repair. Ku80 ubiquitination contributes to the selection of a DSB repair pathway by causing the removal of Ku heterodimers from DSB sites. However, whether Ku80 deubiquitination also plays a role in regulating DSB repair is unknown. To address this question, we performed a comprehensive study of the deubiquitinase specific for Ku80, and our study showed that the deubiquitinase OTUD5 serves as an important regulator of NHEJ repair by increasing the stability of Ku80. Further studies revealed that OTUD5 depletion impaired NHEJ repair, and hence reduced overall DSB repair. Furthermore, OTUD5-depleted cells displayed excess end resection; as a result, HR repair was facilitated by OTUD5 depletion during the S/G2 phase. In summary, our study demonstrates that OTUD5 is a specific deubiquitinase for Ku80 and establishes OTUD5 as an important and positive regulator of NHEJ repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurofibrillary tangles are pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which are mostly composed of hyperphosphorylated tau and directly correlate with dementia in AD patients. Okadaic acid (OA), a toxin extracted from marine life, can specifically inhibit protein phosphatases (PPs), including PP1 and Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), resulting in tau hyperphosphorylation. Humanin (HN), a peptide of 24 amino acids, was initially reported to protect neurons from AD-related cell toxicities. The present study was designed to test if HN could attenuate OA-induced neurotoxicities, including neural insults, apoptosis, autophagy, and tau hyperphosphorylation. We found that administration of OA for 24 h induced neuronal insults, including lactate dehydrogenase released, decreased of cell viability and numbers of living cells, neuronal apoptosis, cells autophagy and tau protein hyperphosphorylation. Pretreatment of cells with HN produced significant protective effects against OA-induced neural insults, apoptosis, autophagy and tau hyperphosphorylation. We also found that OA treatment inhibited PP2A activity and HN pretreatment significantly attenuated the inhibitory effects of OA. This study demonstrated for the first time that HN protected cortical neurons against OA-induced neurotoxicities, including neuronal insults, apoptosis, autophagy, and tau hyperphosphorylation. The mechanisms underlying the protections of HN may involve restoration of PP2A activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nucleolar proteins play an important role in the regulation of the MDM2-p53 pathway, which coordinates cellular response to stress. However, the mechanism underlying this regulation remains poorly understood. Here, we report that the nucleolar protein CSIG is a novel and crucial regulator of the MDM2-p53 pathway. We demonstrate that CSIG translocates from the nucleolus to the nucleoplasm in response to nucleolar stress. Moreover, knockdown of CSIG attenuates the induction of p53 and abrogates G1 phase arrest in response to nucleolar stress. CSIG interacts directly with the MDM2 RING finger domain and inhibits MDM2 E3 ubiquitin ligase activity, thus resulting in a decrease in MDM2-mediated p53 ubiquitination and degradation. Our results suggest that the CSIG-MDM2-p53 regulatory pathway plays an important role in the cellular response to nucleolar stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]